Artpark celebrates 40 years with re-creation of opening night concert

Press release

Artpark will celebrate 40 years with a re-creation of its opening night concert.

JoAnn
Falletta conducts the BPO with special guest performers

Magic
was in the air on the night of July 25, 1974, as a brand new "Art"
park celebrated its grand opening. The idea was something totally
innovative and different for its time.

Four
decades late, Artpark invites patrons to relive that thrilling night,
on July 25 at 8 p.m. in
the Mainstage Theater,
with a very special re-creation of the program presented on the
momentous opening night.
"Artpark Opening Night
1974 Anniversary Concert" will feature
JoAnn Falletta
conducting the Buffalo
Philharmonic Orchestra and special guest performers. The show will
include classical
favorites, hits from the Broadway stage, ballet vignettes, a dramatic
1812 Overture finale accompanied by a dazzling fireworks display, and
free champagne for all.

Artpark
President George
Osborne said, "I have
been fortunate to be a part of Artpark for the past 14 years and to
share in the mission to keep the park viable and valid in the 21st
century, but I wish I could have been here on July 25, 1974, when
Artpark opened with much fanfare and began an era of unprecedented
government support of the arts in the United States. That must have
been a fabulous night, and the following years brought the best
talent in the world to the stage of Artpark. Now we have the
opportunity for one brief moment in time to relive that night and to
share the exhilaration that all in attendance must have felt. Don't
miss it."

Sponsored
by Jaeckle Fleishmann &
Mugel, this celebration
concert will be hosted by television personalities Laurie
Frey and Jack
Armstrong. It will
spotlight special guest performers, including pianist Norman
Krieger, Broadway star
Michele Ragusa,
dancers from the Neglia
Ballet and the Festival
Ballet of Providence.

Krieger,
one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation, will be
featured as a soloist on Chopin's "Andante Spianato & Grande
Polonaise Brillante" Op. 22. Krieger is highly regarded as an
artist of depth, sensitivity and virtuosic flair. A champion of
contemporary music, Krieger has won many prestigious awards and
regularly appears with major orchestras of North America.

Ragusa
will perform Broadway classics including "Think of Me" from
"Phantom of the Opera," "Till There Was You," from "Music
Man," and "I Could Have Danced All Night" from "My Fair
Lady." Ragusa has a truly distinguished career both on and off the
New York City stage. She has starred in the Broadway production of
Mel Brook's "Young Frankenstein" as Elizabeth (succeeding Megan
Mullally) and received numerous accolades for her performances in
Christopher Durang's "Adrift in Macao," "Kiss Me Kate" and
"Into The Woods."

Sergio
Neglia and Silvina
Vaccerelli of the Neglia
Ballet will play Romeo
and Juliet in Sergei Prokofiev "Pas de Deux." Both Neglia and
Vaccerelli were born and studied ballet in Argentina. Neglia is the
founder and artistic director of Neglia Ballet Artists. Vaccerelli
has been performing with the Neglia Ballet since 2011.

Dancing
in Tchaikovsky's "Pas de Deux," Artpark welcomes Vilia
Putrius and Mindaugas
Bauzys of the Festival
Ballet of Providence. Putrius
has been principal dancer for several national ballet companies, she
has also been frequently featured as a guest artist to the Neglia
Ballet. Bauzys mastered his dancing in Copenhagen and St. Petersburg,
he is currently principal dancer for the Festival Ballet of
Providence and has been featured as an international guest artist.

Artpark
will host a grand opening of the "40
for 40" alumni artist
exhibit at 6:30 p.m. in the gallery prior to the anniversary concert.
The exhibit is filed with paintings, drawings, video and sculptures
from alumni visual artists from Artpark's legendary Artist in
Residence program of the '70s and '80s. In celebration of Artpark's
40th
anniversary, visual artists were asked to either exhibit a piece or
create an on-site installation. Several of the installation artists
will be at the gallery pre-show reception for a meet-and-greet,
including John Morton, Scott Pfaffman, Scott Bye and Jeff Brosk.

The
impressive gallery exhibit features works from Dale Chihuly, Martin
Puryear, Dennis Oppenheim, James Surls, Nade Haley and more. The
free-admission gallery will be open before and during the anniversary
concert. Its regular hours are Tuesdays and Saturdays, from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. and during all Mainstage performances.

Fifteen
on-site installations will be completed in various locations
throughout Artpark by the end of July. Several are currently on
display and can be viewed at no charge. Visit www.artpark.net
for more information and installation locations.

Tickets
for the "Artpark Opening Night 1974 Anniversary Concert" event
are on sale now and are $45 for prime, $35 for Section A and $25 for
sections B and C. VIP tickets are available for $75 and include prime
seating and access to a pre-show reception in the gallery and a
post-show reception on the theater terrace.

Purchase
tickets in person at the Artpark Box Office (Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.), by phone at 716-754-4375
or 1-888-223-6000,
or online at www.artpark.net
or www.tickets.com.